“No! I won’t do it! I refuse and there’s nothing you can do about it!” she yelled.

 

“But your Highness, please reconsider, it is the custom and tradition,” the Chancellor of the Purse argued. “While our kingdom’s line of succession has always been matrilineal, it is also a fact that after the wedding, the Princess’ spouse is elevated to the rank of King and rules in her name.”

 

“I don’t care! I’m not having some mouth-breathing oaf for a husband and I won’t relinquish power!” Princess Yanita pushed back from the table so forcefully her chair skidded on its two rear legs, producing a screeching noise that made the courtier cover his ears in annoyance.

 

“But that is where tradition comes into play, your Highness,” the Lord Privy Councillor pointed out. “By selecting your Challenge carefully, you may be able to sway the odds in your preferred suitor’s favour.”

 

“That’s just it! I don’t have a preferred suitor. I don’t like men to begin with and the kind of nobles who are successful in the traditional Challenge are generally stupid, clumsy, and oafish. The ability to single-handedly kill things is a poor qualification for a monarch, wouldn’t you say? Force does not bestow wisdom.” She glared at the functionaries and courtiers who were assembled in the council chamber. “And at any rate, you are missing the point. I. Want. To. Retain. Power!” She punctuated each clearly enunciated word with a firm rap on her chair’s arm rest.

 

“May I remind your highness that it’s the law?” another man pointed out. He was one of the senior clerks and Yanita could not be bothered to recall his name at the moment. He produced a scroll and quoted form it. “‘On the day of the summer equinox in the twentieth year after the heir’s birth, she shall issue a Challenge to the eligible nobles of the realm and he who completes the task shall receive the kingdom and the heir’s hand in marriage.’”

 

“It’s an old and stupid law,” she flared.

 

“Be that as it may, your Highness, it is still the law and the consequences of disobeying are clearly laid out. ‘Should the heir not abide by law and tradition, the succession shall pass on to the next eligible female in line to the throne.’”

 

“That would be my cousin Calvita,” she groaned. “That’s the worst thing that could happen to my kingdom. She’s an idiot to begin with and whatever moronic husband she would choose, would ruin the realm. Between the two of them I wouldn’t give our country more than five years.”

 

“Exactly, your Highness. This is why we have been urging you to choose the lesser evil and to announce the Challenge.”

 

She sighed in frustration, shaking her head so that her long, auburn hair fell over her face. Then she rose and walked to the window, and stared outside. Finally, she turned around and waved her hand.

 

“This session of the council is at an end. I shall have to think on this matter for a while, but I thank you all for your candid opinions.”

 

That evening before bedtime, she sent her ladies in waiting to bed early, retaining only her friend Bernice’s services. The blonde woman brushed Yanita’s hair with even strokes as she listened to the princess’ musings.

 

“It’s all so frustrating! How did we end up with this stupid custom?”

 

“I can answer that question. While you were busy arguing with the council this afternoon, I took the liberty of perusing the library and asking some pointed questions of the librarians, my lady.”

 

“Don’t you my lady me!” she glared.

 

Her friend gave an easy smile, enjoying their usual banter.

 

“At any rate, the tradition began over five hundred years ago, in the times following the Interregnum. As you can imagine, those were violent years and according to the records Queen Helsbeth II established the custom, because she needed an able commander for her armies whom she could trust. So she held a tournament and appointed the victor as her general. By marrying him and nominally making her husband the King, she assured his loyalty. After all, as King, he already held the throne and had no interest in usurpation or compromise with the enemies of the kingdom.”

 

“That made sense in its own time, I suppose, but I still resent having to abide by the law.”

 

“According to the librarians, so did a lot of heirs and that’s why the Challenges became fancier and more complicated with each generation. It may have started out as a tournament with lances, but it soon evolved into more daring feats that were to be accomplished during the annual Royal Hunt. And finally, over the centuries it became the formal Challenge that we are familiar with today. And there are ways of making the Challenge work in the heir’s favour, if you know what I mean.”

 

“What exactly are you alluding to?”

 

“Well, to give you an example, your grandmother did not marry until her twenty-third year and I suspect this circumstance was by her clever design.”

 

“You mean she didn’t want to get married either?”

 

“No, she enjoyed married life with your grandfather—and the lovers she took—but she definitely was procrastinating on handing over power.”

 

“Are you certain?”

 

“As much as anyone can be. She was the one who sent her suitors on a nearly impossible quest. Asking them to slay a dragon thinned out the ranks of potential consorts considerably. And I believe your grandfather got lucky in finding an old, weak dragon that was easily defeated.”

 

“I think I see where you are going with this idea. After all, my mother did not wed for seven years after issuing her Challenge.”

 

“Asking them to capture a unicorn was a stroke of genius! Knowing men and their carnal habits, it was almost impossible for them to approach a unicorn, never mind trap it.”

 

“I have been wondering about that. My father always seemed rather meek. Do you think he was a virgin before becoming King?”

 

“Almost certainly!”

 

“Well, with that in mind, perhaps I should issue a challenge, after all,” Yanita mused.

 

“What kind of challenge?”

 

The Princess considered for a while, before finally answering.

 

“I think I want my future husband to prove himself by killing a phoenix for me!”

 

“But the phoenix is eternal and always rises reborn from its ashes.”

 

“Exactly! I think I will have to settle in for a very long wait!”

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